Street or station indicator



(No Model.)

J. O. MURPHY. STREET 0R STATION INDICATOR.

Patented Nov. 4, 1890.

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JOHN C. MURPHY, OF SOUTH EVANSTON, ILLINOIS.

STRE ET OR STATION INDICATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No, 439,674, dated November 4, 1890.

Application filed June11, 1890- Serial No. 355,078. (No model.) I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN C. MURPHY,:a citizen of the United States, residing at South Evanston, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Street or Station Indicators, of

which the following is a'specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in the class of devices for use on cars to display;

plied to a street-car, of which only so much.

is represented in dotted lines as will sufiice for illustrating my invention. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the indicator-box,

showing interior mechanism; Fig. 3, a broken longitudinal sectional view of the box, showing the interior mechanism and the upper portion of the actuating worm-rod provided with its disengaging means; and Fig. 4, a plan view of the disengaging means, showing the worm-rod in section as applied eccentrically'to it.

The operation of my improved device remains the same whether applied to a street or a railway car. Hence description thereof in connection with the former, as it is shown, will suffice for both.

A is the indicator-box, which should be supported in an overhead position inside the car at one end of the latter. Inside the box A is journaled a spring-roller B, preferably hollow, as shown, and having the spiral spring a, which controls it inside. Below the roller Bis journaled inside the box another and preferably much thinner and solid roller 0, carrying on one of its journal'ends a cogwheel D, and between the rollers extends the web or ribbon E, being secured at opposite ends to the respective rollers and initially set by winding it around the spring-roller and cured to the disk to move therewith.

the box A is situated, and surrounded, preferably, by a stationary gas-pipe sleeve q. The

spindle or rod F is supported near its opposite ends in suitable bearings, as shown, and

is provided near its upper end with a worm G, meshing with the cog-wheel D. At the lower end of the rod which projects below the adjacent car-axle m.

On the bottom of the box A, at the opening therein for the passage through it of the rod F, I provide an eccentric device H, comprising a sleeve or collar Z, secured at its flanges k to the box and containing a disk h, having ,a laterally-projecting handle 2', and through which the rod passes eccentrically, being se- The journal end of the roller 0 opposite that at which the cog-wheel D is provided extends beyond the box, as shown, and is adapted to permit the application of a key, button, or crank g for turning the roller by hand, as and for a purpose hereinafter described.

The operation is as follows: To adapt the device to its purpose the names of the streets or stations along the route over which the car is run must be marked on the web E in the succession of their occurrence, and to find with required accuracy the proper places for marking them the car should first be run over its route, and as a street or station is reached its name or number should be indicated on the part of the web brought by the motion of the car to be displayed through the opening f in the face of the box A. The travel of the web is caused by the turning of theaxle m, which through the gear-connection with the spindle F, rotates the latter, thereby turning the worm G, which in turn by its engagement with the cog-wheel D rotates the roller 0, causing the latter to wind the web upon it across the opening J from the springroller, which 0bviously prevents any slack in the web from being produced by the changing in the diameters of the two rollers in the winding and unwinding of the web from one to the other. lhe extent of rotation of the cog-wheel D by each complete revolution of the worm should be very slight, so that a street-car may move several hundred feet and a railway-car much farther while the worm is effecting a complete rotation of the roller C, the wheel D being provided accordingly with the proper number of cogs. Thereby the web E need not be undesirably long, since the names of streets or stations may be marked thereon but about an inch apart. Obviously, when the names have been once so placed on the web, whichever the direction of running the car, the web will, with all the parts working normally and depending on the direction of the cars move ment, be wound in the one instance from the roller B to the roller 0 against the spring-resistance of the former by the action of the worm in turning the lower roller, or, in the other instance, from the last-named roller upon the roller B by the spring of the latter causing it to wind upon itself the web as it is unwound by the'turning of the roller 0 to unwind the web therefrom. In case of slipping of the car-wheels or from any other cause the indicator is not regularly actuated, it should be susceptible of proper setting to reproduce the desired accuracy in its operation. Accordingly whenever the indications on the web do not correspond with the streets or stations they are provided to indicate, the roller C may be turned by hand at the crank g to readjust the web on forcing the worm G out of gear with the cog-wheel D by turning the handle 2' of the eccentric device, which springs the rod F aside and disengages the worm to free the cog-wheel.

Of the many indicators of the same class as mine hitherto invented my improvement presents the advantage of utter simplicity in its construction and few parts constituting the mechanism, and it is the particular co1nbining of these parts, as stated in the appended claims, to produce the operation in the manner described which constitutes my improvement.

\Vhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A street or station indicator comprising, in combination with a car, a box A, having journaled within it a spring-roller B and a roller 0, a web E, for the display of the names secured at opposite ends to the rollers to be wound from one upon the other, a cog-wheel D on one roller, a vertical rod F, having a worm G at its upper end to engage the cog- Wheel and carrying at its lower end a pulley p, a pulley n on the axle m of the car, and a belt 0, connecting the rod F directly with the axle at the pulleys p and n, the whole being constructed and arranged to operate substantially as described.

2. A street or station indicator comprising, in combination with a car, a box A, having journaled within it a spring-roller B and a roller 0, a web E, for the display of the names secured at opposite ends to the rollers to be wound from one upon the other, a cog-wheel D on one roller, a vertical rod F, having a worm G at its upper end to engage the cogwheel and carrying at its lower end a pulley p, a pulley n on the axle m of the car, a belt 0, connecting the rod F directly with the axle at the pulleys p and 'n, and an eccentric device H, for disengaging the worm from the cog-wheel and formed of a stationary sleeve Z, containing a disk h, through which the rod F passes ec'centrically, and provided with a handle 2', the whole being constructed and arranged to operate substantially as described.

JOHN C. MURPHY. In presence of DOUGLAS DYRENFORTH, M. J. FROST. 

